Improvement in chairs



M. B REN NAN. Improvement in Chairs.

Patented July 2,1872.

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flu/6115514 I at? 71/ 14H. PHOTO -L/THOGFMPH/0 C0. M Y. I OSBORNE/5"IRQCESSJ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIoE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CHAIRS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 128,459, dated July 2,1872.

To all persons to whom these presents may come:

Be it known that I, MIOHEAL BRENNAN, of Gambridgeport, of the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and usefulImprovement in Chairs; and do hereby declare the same to be fullydescribed in the following specification and represented in theaccompanying drawing, of which- Figure l is a top view, Fig. 2 a sideelevation, and Fig. 3 a vertical section, of a chair provided with myinvention.

The said chair has a rotary foot or leg rest and a peculiar mechanismfor operating it or supporting and movingit, as occasion may require. v

' In such drawing, A denotes a chair of ordinary construction. B is thefoot or leg rest,

which, at its ends or their middles, is pivoted to two serpentine bars,0 0, formed as shown and extended through guides or staples D D,arranged as represented. If desirable, each of these serpentine bars mayrest on a friction-roller, arranged as exhibited at a. At their rearends these serpentine bars are pivoted or jointed to the upper ends oftwo bent levers, E E, having their longer arms connected by a rod orbar, b. Each of the said bent levers, formed as shown, is pivoted to thechair, the pivot of one being represented at c. The shorter arms of thetwo levers are jointed to lifters F F or bars furnished, at or neartheir upper ends, with handles d cl, all being arranged substantially inmanner as exhibited in the drawing.

By pulling the handles upward the serpentine bars 0 O and the rest B maybe thrown or forced outward into positions as represented by dottedlines.

The foot or leg rest is a pendulous or gravitating one-that is, itscenter of gravity is so arranged with the pivots or their common axis asto cause the rest, while projected fromthe chair, to assume or fall intoa horizontal position, or thereabout, it folding up against the chair inmanner as shown while being drawn back closely up to it. The said restthus becomes self-adj ustin g, it assuming a vertical position when inand ahorizontal one when out. By being caused toassume a verticalposition, or thereabout, when in or against the chair the foot-rest willbe more out of the way of the legs of a sitter than were it horizontal.I would also remarkthat the serpentine form, as shown, of each bar (3 isan advantage over a straight bar, as it enables the footrest to be runout to different distances to the extent that may be desirable by asitter, and to be prevented from being forced backward by the weight ofhis legs, while the rearmost third part of the bar may be upon thefrictionrollers. While the foot-rest may be in the act of being run outthe serpentine bars impart movement to it such as will first depress itand next raise it. The downward movement of it depresses it so as toenable the sitter to readily raise his feet over and back of it while itmay be in the act of being advanced.

I am aware of the subject of the United States Patent No. 115,787, datedJune 6, 1871, and make no claim thereto.

' I claim- 1. The combination of the serpentine bars (3 G, the bentlevers E E, and the lifters F F, all being arranged and connectedtogether and with the chair A, and for application to the footrest,substantially in manner and to operate as described.

2. I also claim the combination of the gravitating foot-rest B, asdescribed, with the serpentine bars 0 G, the bent levers E E, and thelifters F F, arranged and applied to a chair,

substantially as explained.

MIGHEAL BRENNAN.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, J. R. SNow.

